Neutral Finland has begun deliberating the option of joining NATO after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sparked fears across Europe.
Following Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine and its sovereignty, neutral countries like Sweden and Finland began deliberating NATO membership in order to protect their national interests amid fears that Putin could target other neighboring countries after he is done with Ukraine.
Now, it has come to light that Finland has already started discussing the possibility of joining NATO and is just weeks away from reaching a decision on the matter.
“Both joining and not joining [NATO] are choices that have consequences,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.
“We need to assess both the short-term and long-term effects. At the same time, we must keep in mind our goal: ensuring the security of Finland and Finns in all situations.”
The prime minister went on to suggest the country’s relationship with neighboring Russia is damaged as she said “it takes a lot of time and work for confidence to be restored.”
According to the reports, it is believed that Finland might reach an agreement on the matter of joining or not joining NATO within weeks.
The deliberations come after Russia warned its neutral neighbors Sweden and Finland that joining NATO would result in severe consequences.
“It is obvious that Finland and Sweden’s joining NATO, which is a military organization in the first place, would have serious military and political consequences requiring use to revise the entire range of relations with these countries and take retaliatory measures,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry representative Sergei Belyayev previously said.
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